September 3, 2017

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Jesus tells the disciples who were having trouble moving beyond their own expectations of God’s plan, “If anyone wants to be-come my follower, let him deny himself.” To follow Jesus, we must let go of the idea that we know everything that should happen, and let grace lead our way. Let us find ways to remain open to plans bigger than our own. (*Living with Christ) Labour Day weekend marks the end of the summer vacation period and the resumption of activities in home, parish and school. We take this opportunity to encourage you to be active with renewed participation in our parish community.

Pastor—Fr. Edmund Vargas (efvargas@shaw) Deacon—Deacon Bruce Jurgens (bruce.jurgens@calgarydiocese.ca) Secretary—Brenda Lerner (office@stjamescalgary.org) Music Director—Tom Linahan (tglinahan@gmail.com) Parish Screening Coordinator—Lindsay Flynn (pvsc@stjamescalgary.org) Bookkeeper—Anna McKiernan Parish Council—Nick Fader, Ralph Walicki, Daryl Engelman, Sheryl Schmitt, David Odongi, Elvira Castaneda, Ted Valentine, Kyle Hagan, Arkangelo Uyin Finance Committee—Neale Johannesson, Scott Iredale, Terry Gonsalves Children’s Liturgy— Becky Elder Pastoral Care—Stephanie Davis Altar Servers—Jennifer Brosseau Food Bank—Vivian Moody RCIA—Deacon Bruce Jurgens, Allison Hay, Karen Serafini Sacramental Preparation—Deacon Bruce Jurgens Baptism Preparation—Dustin & Eloisa Greenwald Maintenance Committee—Arnie Funke, Richard Belzil, Al Meier Knights of Columbus—Tim Cove Funeral Lunches—Audrey McKean Lectors/Eucharistic Ministers—Colleen Cove, Richard Belzil, Zita Fulawka, David Odongi Hospitality— Marie Funke, Angela Nagy, Florence Dickson Sudanese Community—Martin Onon Syrian Refugee Committee—Pat Barry Ushers—Al Meier Social Committee—VACANT Art & Environment Committee—Lin Samson, Anita Zyla Sudanese Choir—David Odongi Library— Colleen Montgomery Sandwich Days—Emil Rawlyk Christian Meditation—Engeline Piet Liturgy Committee— Tom Linahan, Stephanie Davis, Catherine Peet, Midge Chartier, Ted Valentine, Michael Hudec, Colleen deSouza, Anita Zyla, Vivian Moody, Al Meier

St. James the Great Church 5504 20 St SW

Calgary, Alberta T3E 1 R2 Ph: 403 243 2680 Fax: 403 287 1273

www.stjamescalgary.org

Mass Schedule Saturday 5:00pm Sunday

8:30am, 10:00am, 12:00 Weekday Mass

Tuesday thru Friday 9:00am

Eucharistic Adoration Wednesday 9:30am—10:30am

Reconciliation Tuesday thru Friday 8:30am

Saturday 4:00pm-4:30pm or by request Office Hours

Monday thru Friday 9:00am—3:00pm

*Closed 12:00-12:30

Mass Intentions Tuesday, September 5 9:00am Marjorie & Felix McKnight—RIP Wednesday, September 6 9:00am Bill Britton—RIP Thursday, September 7 9:00am John D’Souza—RIP Friday, September 8 9:00am Gerrie Byrne—RIP Saturday, September 9 5:00pm Carmine Ciccaglione—RIP Sunday, September 10 8:30am Special Intention of Tim Tyler 10:00am St James Parish 12:00 Special Intention of Jainab Amerkhan Candau

Pastoral Notes by Fr. Edmund The Cost of Discipleship

A shadow covers the scenario of today’s gos-pel. This hidden aspect of today’s gospel narrative is the realization that Jesus in on his way to Jerusalem, the destiny of his definitive mission and ministry to bring salvation to our fallen world. As Jesus ap-proaches his end of his earthly mission, things have become dead serious. Jerusalem awaits the somber events that are about to enfold as history stands on the threshold of redemption. We refer to our Christian faith as a journey. This reference of faith to a journey serves the two-fold pur-pose of symbolizing Christian life and the movement of Jesus toward his salvation destiny. We are formed by the journey we embark in our ef-fort to follow Christ’s own journey of suffering, death and resurrection. Our Christian journey is where we learn the lessons of discipleship, familiarizing and living the values of Christ’s kingdom of love and for-giveness. In Christ’s perspective, there is no room for self-righteousness, narrow-mindedness and sinfulness. To pursue the journey requires repentance from the heart. Religious superiority or religious adherence or observance of the law is nothing if there is no repent-ance in the heart. Repentant sinners are more likely to enter through the narrow door before the self-righteous. Today’s gospel demands that we ask ourselves: do we wish to deny ourselves, take up Christ’s cross and follow Him? Within our spirit, there is a vastness to explore our capacity to love and serve. Every effort to embark and pursue this journey of love leads to the narrow door. The journey through the narrow door re-quires a strict diet of active Christian life of love and forgiveness. It requires constancy in our prayerful di-alogue with our Savior and a regular exercise of our spiritual muscles that would keep them trim and fit for apostolic action.

Please pray for the sick: Claire Oliphant, Mariah Lerner, Harry Piet,

Shirley Valentine, Betty Harrison, Gabriel Serpas, Jean Doucette,

Sheila Bachynski, Robert Jackson, Tim Tyler

And for those who have died: Sally Stotts, Barbara Duxbury

Congratulations to Denise Funke, daughter of Arnie & Marie Funke, who celebrated her 25th year with the Consecrated Women of Regnum Christi this summer. The Funke family have been parishioners here for many years. Please keep in your prayers, Lindsay Oliphant, also from our parish, who entered the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in Nashville in August. We are excited to have another religious vocation from our parish!

Stand Firm in the Faith—Day Retreat for Men Living Every Day with Passion & Purpose

with Bishop Emeritus Henry Saturday, October 7 11:00am – 3:30pm

St. Luke’s Catholic Church 1566 Northmount Drive NW

$40 (includes lunch) Registration forms are available at the office. For more information, contact Margaret at

403 282 9488 or by email to Margaret.Dewald@stlukeschurch.ca

This Week’s Events

Monday Office Closed—Labor Day Tuesday Mass 9:00am Wednesday Mass 9:00am Thursday Opus Dei Men 7:00pm Friday Bridge 1:00pm Saturday Baptism Class 11:00am Sunday Confirmation Class 11:00am *Christian Mediation will resume on September 11. *Marian Cenacle will resume on September 12

Volunteers Needed!

We are in serious need of volunteers in many areas. Volunteers are a necessity to function well as a parish. Volunteering in the various ministries is a wonderful way to get to know fellow parishioners and build community. The more volunteers we have, the less frequently they are needed. Whether you can volunteer a little or a lot, please consider helping out in one or more areas. Without more volunteers, some of our very important ministries may have to be cancelled. **Pastoral Care—bringing Communion to the sick and homebound (without pastoral care volunteers, many of our senior parishioners will not have regular access to the Eucharist) *Food Bank—providing food hampers to those in need in our area *Eucharistic Ministers at all weekend Masses *Hospitality (coffee service) after the weekend Masses *Altar servers *Social Committee—NEW committee that will help to coordinate, set up and serve for social events at the parish including funeral lunches *Maintenance Committee—persons willing to volunteer in areas of maintenance as needed *Children’s Liturgy—Under the guidance of the coordinator, volunteers will help to deliver the children’s liturgy classes during the 10:00 Mass. Open to children ages 3 to grade 3. *Flower Ministry—assisting the floral designer in maintaining bouquets and arrangements in the sanctuary *and many more not listed that can always use volunteers

Parish Appeal While we appreciate your continuing support for our parish, St. James Church, which has been serving our community for more than fifty years now, we also appeal for increased financial support during this time of need in our history and life as a Catholic community. Donations to our parish have dropped off in the first five months of this year, and several large donors have recently either moved out of our area or passed away. From January to the end of May, our total collections are more than $10,500 under budget. With the usual slowdown in donations over the summer, our church will be in a serious financial deficit by September unless quick action is taken. Also, our parish no longer has the benefit of interest income from our Diocesan Central Fund savings, which was utilized for our recent renovations. In the past years, interest income provided a reliable supplement to our parish in-come. Each of the members of the St. James Parish Council and the Finance Committee have agreed to increase their weekly donations to help ad-dress this issue. Unfortunately, this will not be nearly enough to bring our accounts into bal-ance. As members of the parish, we are ask-ing you to increase your weekly donations to help our parish meet both ends, so to speak. St. James Church is our church we love. If we do not increase donations to cover our operation-al expenses, then our Church will not be finan-cially viable and will have to consider other op-tions, including merging with another parish or closure. If you care about the future of St. James Church, please consider this appeal. And please do not forget that you will receive a 50% tax credit for every dollar donated over $200 per year. Donations below $200 also receive a tax credit but at a lower rate.

God is never outdone in generosity!

Bishop’s Dinner

Bishop McGrattan will host his very first Bishop’s Dinner on Thursday, October 19. This year’s theme is Youth & Vocations - Their Faith, The Church. Michael Chiasson will give the keynote address with Bishop McGrattan sharing his vision for youth in his closing remarks. Catholic singer/songwriter Janelle is our musical guest. Tickets are $175 or $1400/table of 8. For more infor-mation contact Samantha at 403-218-5531 or samantha.jones@calgarydiocese.ca. Purchase tickets online at my.calgarydiocese.ca/bishopsdinner

Sacraments Update...

*Confirmation—Confirmation Classes BEGIN Sunday, September 10 (until October 29) from 11:00am-12:00noon, facilitated by Deacon Bruce, Joanne Anderson and Laura Meneses. One parent is required to attend with their child. Classes are open to all students in grade 6 or higher who have received Baptism and First Communion. If your child is not yet registered, please do so this week. The Sacrament of Confirmation is celebrated every 2nd year at St. James Church. Registration forms can be found on our website, at the SW entrance of the church, and at the office. *Baptism—If you are interested in having your child or children baptized, please contact Fr. Edmund or the parish office to arrange for a meeting with Fr. Edmund. Attendance at a Baptism Orientation Class is needed. A copy of the child’s birth certificate is also needed. A Registration for Baptism form can be downloaded from our website. The candidate may have one or two godparents (also called sponsors) who are to be chosen by the parents, have the ability and intention to fulfill the role, be at least 16 years of age, and be a confirmed Roman Catholic who has already received the Eucharist, and is leading a life in harmony with the Catholic Faith (including marriage) and will be a good role model for the one being baptized, and be neither the father nor the mother of the child. *Marriage—To arrange a marriage, please arrange to meet with Fr. Edmund. A Marriage Preparation Course is required. *Annointing of the Sick—Please contact Fr. Edmund at any time to arrange for the Annointing of the Sick for the seriously sick or dying.

Mass Times Lectors Communion Ministers Ushers Altar Servers

SATURDAY Sept 9 5:00pm

Joanne Anderson Luisa Zimich

Sean Brosseau Ted Valentine Leila Wright

Henry Vaugeois, Larry Betts Glen Lilly

SUNDAY Sept 10 8:30 AM

Nick Fader Alex Fader

SUNDAY Sept 10 10:00 AM

Vicki Oliphant Daniel Danis

Shirley Lutz Doris McCullough

Tony Zuzic, Al Meier Robert McKean, Roger Jeanson

SUNDAY Sept 10 12 NOON

Nakiru Ayudo Ayudo Ayudo

Bernadette Carrera John Atanasio Martin Onon

M. Malueth, R. Madhieu E. Boliamoi, J. Atanasio,

Mimi, Okio, Antony, Aher, Achol, Darius

Next Weekend’s Ministers

Deadline for bulletin entries is Wednesday at noon.